As
the price of gold surged to its highest level in almost three decades on
Monday, the consolidation of the global mining industry continued apace with a
trio of deals touching Canada, Australia, Chile and Europe.
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The price of gold surged to a 27-year high of $794.70 an ounce on the London
Bullion Market on Monday, and the levitating price of gold and other metals is
driving a rush of consolidation.
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First, Anglo-Swiss mining company Xstrata plc, which has been on an
acquisition spree for years, unveiled an A$3.1 billion ($2.9 billion) bid
for Australian nickel producer Jubilee Mines NL.
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And Vancouver, British Columbia-based gold and copper miner Northgate
Minerals Corp. offered to buy Australian gold miner Perseverance Corp. Ltd.
for A$282 million.
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Then the world’s biggest gold producer, Barrick Gold Corp. of Toronto,
weighed in with the announcement it will buy Arizona Star Resource Corp. of
Vancouver for C$773 million ($805 million). Though that looks like an
all-Canadian deal, what Barrick is really after is Arizona Star’s 51%
interest in the Cerro Casale project in Chile.
— Peter Moreira
See story about Xstrata deal from TheDeal.com
See story about Barrick deal from TheDeal.com
See story about gold from CNNmoney.com
